Electrical batteries play an indispensable role in commercial and industrial systems, such as, for example, as an alternate source of power in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. In such systems, each individual battery, or “jar,” may supply a relatively small voltage, with several such batteries arranged or connected in series as a battery “string” to supply an overall voltage approximately equal to the sum of the battery voltages that is useful for the electronic system being supported.
To ensure the batteries in such a system are functioning properly and perform as expected when the need arises, such a system oftentimes includes a separate monitoring circuit for each battery. Typically, each monitor periodically tests its corresponding battery in an attempt to identify any battery that may be failing so that such a battery may be replaced before overall system performance is adversely affected. While such per-battery testing can be effective in identifying poorly performing batteries, such individual monitoring circuits may be considered expensive in some industrial or commercial applications. As a result, many types of battery systems, such as those employed in various facets of the telecommunications, utilities, cable television, railroad, and oil and gas industries, remain unmonitored.